While not many will care about any of this until the Top 30 begins, you’re going to want a resource/reference when the Dodgers throw-in Leonel Valera in a trade to acquire Kelvin Herrera to bolster the bullpen at the trade deadline.

Eligibility

All players who have not reached 50 innings pitched or 130 at-bats in the MLB, and have fewer than 45 days of pre-Sept. 1 service time in the MLB are eligible for this list. Ages are the league-age season for the player, i.e. “his age-23 season.”

The depth is still there, but it isn’t as deep with likely future MLBers as it has been in the past. The Dodgers lost A.J. Alexy, Hendrik Clementina, Oneil Cruz, Brendon Davis, Grant Dayton, Chase De Jong, Angel German and Jacob Rhame in trades (Dayton was a waiver claim by Atlanta) and released Jose Miguel Fernandez this winter. All of them appeared in last year’s Top 100, but a solid draft and decent international signing crop helped mitigate some of these losses. Scott Barlow — who would have been in the 21-30 range, elected free agency after six minor-league seasons and signed a Major League contract with the Royals. Go figure. If the most recent draft class has a few guys take a step forward in 2018, then the depth will be helped substantially.

Overall: B/B+

This is still a Top 10 system in the game, and that’s saying something after graduating premium prospects like Bellinger, Corey Seager and Julio Urias in the last two years. Buehler is a global Top 10-15 prospect, and the Dodgers should have another 3-5 players in most Top 100 lists come springtime. If Kendall booms this season, then he could challenge for the No. 1 spot on this list as early as midseason, but definitely next winter. His ceiling might be the highest of any prospect in the system.

About Dustin Nosler

Dustin Nosler began writing about the Dodgers in July 2009 at his blog, Feelin' Kinda Blue. He co-hosts a weekly podcast with Jared Massey called Dugout Blues. He is a contributor/editor at The Hardball Times. He graduated from California State University, Sacramento, with his bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in digital media. While at CSUS, he worked for the student-run newspaper The State Hornet for three years, culminating with a 1-year term as editor-in-chief. He resides in Stockton, Calif., and has yet to be shot.